Philly running route suggestions? (Read 1132 times)

Will be visiting Philadelphia for a professional conference the first full week of August and would welcome running route suggestions.

I'm staying at the downtown Marriott on Market Street. I'd like to run 4-7 miles depending on my schedule. I am fine with city running, but would enjoy running along one of the rivers and/or through parks. I'll be heading out around 6 a.m., so any safety pointers on places to stick to or places to avoid would be appreciated.

I am not a local, but when I stayed there I found a very nice path along the river, a very long one. It was a short (.25-.5 mile) jaunt from my hotel downtown. If you look on a map it should be easy to locate.

"If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does. There's your pep talk for today. Go Run." -- Slo_Hand

I don't know about the Marriott, but a lot of hotels I have been at in Philly, if you ask the concierge, actually have little maps for runners. A nice touch.

Anyway, starting at City Hall, you need to run north west, get yourself to Logan Circle then up the Ben Franklin Parkway, run up that north west, then veer to the right at the Art Museum (where Rocky ran up), then you'll be on Kelly Drive. Run past Boat House Row. There is a path along the road/Schuylkill river. There are mile markings painted on it, or at least there used to be. If you're only doing 4-7 miles, you'll do an out and back. If you want to do more, there is a loop on the Schuylkill...you cross the river at Falls Bridge and come back on the other side of the Art Museum, coming back on Martin Luther King Drive (sometimes called West River Drive). Take a look at a map. It's pretty easy. I think the loop is like 8.5 miles, but I can't remember. But, of course, you would have to tack that on to you whatever you ran to get there. May be too long for you.

As for safety, not really a concern, there are other runners doing the same thing at 6 AM, so you won't be alone. There are more people on Kelly Drive than there are on Martin Luther King Drive. A bonus! On Sunday, Martin Luther King drive is closed to traffic, but, it doesn't really make that much difference, the path is plenty wide.

Just make sure you pay attention to traffic, one time the guy I was running with wasn't paying attention and almost dashed out in front of a bus.

If you want to run on the Delaware river, well, the scenery isn't as good, and neither (IMO) is the route. But you would head east, right down Market, then take a right (or left). But that waterfront isn't as conducive to running.

I'll echo the above. Best place for running is the Schuylkill Trail along Kelly Drive/West River Drive. the loop beginning from boathouse row is 8.5 miles, and every quarter mile is marked with white spraypaint, most are easy to spot.

However, you can access the lower part of the Trail at Locust Street and Race Street, and that'll take you up to Boathouse Row. From the Locust St entrance (25th St and Locust St intersection) up to Boathouse Row is about 1.5 miles.

Another option is running the Ben Franklin Bridge. The pedestrian access is at 5th and Race Streets. Run the Bridge over into Camden, but I'd turn around before you get into Camden. But at 6am, you'll be safe running just about anywhere in Philly.

I'll echo the above. Best place for running is the Schuylkill Trail along Kelly Drive/West River Drive. the loop beginning from boathouse row is 8.5 miles, and every quarter mile is marked with white spraypaint, most are easy to spot.

However, you can access the lower part of the Trail at Locust Street and Race Street, and that'll take you up to Boathouse Row. From the Locust St entrance (25th St and Locust St intersection) up to Boathouse Row is about 1.5 miles.

Yes, this is the route I was referring to. The boathouse is a giveaway.

"If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does. There's your pep talk for today. Go Run." -- Slo_Hand

There are nice trails along the Schuykill River. If you can get there, you're golden.

Don't forget to get a Pat's cheesesteak in downtown. You just say "cheese with" or "cheese without" (onions, that is). Nothing more, nothing less. They'll get in your face if you order any other way.

There are better places for cheesesteaks than Pat's. Or Geno's, for that matter. And they're a little ways away from Market Street anyway...and the OP would have to go through some less desirable sections of town to get there.

If you're at the Marriott, just go down to street level, walk a block north, and go to the Reading Terminal Market. Lots of good food there. LOTS.

As for running the bridge, well, if you do, be prepared. It is one damn long hill. Up and down. Twice.

They have a race every year which starts on the Camden waterfront near/at the baseball stadium. Most people start off, huffing and puffing up the bridge, all pumped up because it's a race...get to the crest of the bridge, and run way to fast on the downside...go around the circle at the bottom of the Philly side and then they realize they have to come back up the bridge again...and have nothing left in their tank.

They used to have a really nice race called the A to Z, which stood for Aquarium to Zoo, which went from the Camden Aquarium to the Philadelphia Zoo, which was a nice 10K. Logistics killed that one, I think. Since it wasn't an out-and-back, they had to bus everyone back/etc.

They used to have a really nice race called the A to Z, which stood for Aquarium to Zoo, which went from the Camden Aquarium to the Philadelphia Zoo, which was a nice 10K. Logistics killed that one, I think. Since it wasn't an out-and-back, they had to bus everyone back/etc.

I did the A-Z somewhere around 1999, and loved it. Great time, and for some reason I frequently flash back to stretching out in aquarium before the race.

I see there's now a Cooper hospital 10k over the bridge, but its probably not the same without the long cruise along the river. Anyone run it?

I visited last year and while I can recommend Kelly Drive, I stayed in the same hotel that you'll be in and you may not get very far up it before you have to turn back; my log from the day I went that way is here. For a shorter run, over the Benjamin Franklin bridge and back was good.

Also, while I didn't end up meeting with them, the people at Philly Runners were good with advice via their forum.

Update: I enjoyed two lovely runs along the Schuylkill. The scenery and ease of continuous running (not stopped by a zillion traffic lights, at least while along the water) were just what I hoped for. And as promised, there was plenty of foot and bike traffic to keep me company. Thanks to everyone for your advice.

I'm linking to my route for any future Philly visitors who stumble upon this thread. I had to turn back due to time constraints, but the trail continues beyond my turnaround point.